Naoto Yokoyama

Statistics of gravity waves obtained by direct numerical simulation

We perform direct numerical simulations of dynamic equations of decaying gravity waves on infinite-depth water. Power-law behaviour of the wave action spectrum and structure functions of the surface elevation is obtained. These power laws agree with the prediction of the weak turbulence theory. The probability density function (p.d.f.) of the surface elevation is close to the Gaussian distribution around the mean value which seems to be consistent with the random phase approximation. However, the p.d.f. deviates weakly from the Gaussian in the tail region. This deviation is significant and can be amplified by taking the Laplacian. In addition, intermittency and breakdown of the weak turbulence theory are discussed.

Aerodynamic forces and vortical structures in flapping butterfly's forward flight

Forward flights of a bilaterally symmetrically flapping butterfly modeled as a four-link rigid-body system consisting of a thorax, an abdomen, and left and right wings are numerically simulated. The joint motions of the butterflies are adopted from experimental observations. Three kinds of the simulations, distinguished by ways to determine the position and attitude of the thorax, are carried out: a tethered simulation, a prescribed simulation, and free-flight simulations. The upward and streamwise forces as well as the wake structures in the tethered simulation, where the thorax of the butterfly is fixed, reasonably agree with those in the corresponding tethered experiment. In the prescribed simulation, where the thoracic trajectories as well as the joint angles are given by those observed in a free-flight experiment, it is confirmed that the butterfly can produce enough forces to achieve the flapping flights. Moreover, coherent vortical structures in the wake and those on the wings are identified. The g...

Vertical variation in leaf gas exchange parameters for a Southeast Asian tropical rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia

Vertical variation in leaf gas exchange characteristics of trees grown in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia was investigated. Maximum net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and electron transport rate of leaves at the upper canopy, lower canopy, and forest floor were studied in situ with saturated condition photosynthetic photon flux density. The dark respiration rate of leaves at the various heights was also studied. Relationships among gas exchange characteristics, and also with nitrogen content per unit leaf area and leaf dry matter per area were clearly detected, forming general equations representing the vertical profile of several important parameters related to gas exchange. Numerical analysis revealed that the vertical distribution of gas exchange parameters was well determined showing both larger carbon gain for the whole canopy and at the same time positive carbon gain for the leaves of the lowest layer. For correct estimation of gas exchange at both leaf and canopy scales using multi-layer models, it is essential to consider the vertical distribution of gas exchange parameters with proper scaling coefficients.

Weak and Strong Wave Turbulence Spectra for Elastic Thin Plate

A variety of statistically steady energy spectra in elastic wave turbulence have been reported in numerical simulations, experiments, and theoretical studies. Focusing on the energy levels of the system, we perform direct numerical simulations according to the Föppl-von Kármán equation, and successfully reproduce the variability of the energy spectra by changing the magnitude of external force systematically. When the total energies in wave fields are small, the energy spectra are close to a statistically steady solution of the kinetic equation in the weak turbulence theory. On the other hand, in large-energy wave fields, another self-similar spectrum is found. The coexistence of the weakly nonlinear spectrum in large wave numbers and the strongly nonlinear spectrum in small wave numbers is also found in moderate energy wave fields.

Effects of structural flexibility of wings in flapping flight of butterfly.

The objective of this paper is to clarify the principle of stabilization in flapping-ofwings flight of a butterfly, which is rhythmic and cyclic motion. For this purpose, a dynamics model of a butterfly is derived by Lagranges method, where the butterfly is considered as a rigid multi-body system. For the aerodynamic forces, a panel method is applied. Validity of the mathematical models is shown by agreement of the numerical result with the measured data. Then, periodic orbits of flapping-of-wings flights are searched in order to fly the butterfly models. Almost periodic orbits are obtained, but the model in the searched flapping-of-wings flight is unstable. This research, then, studies how the flexibly torsional wings effect on the flight stability. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the flexible torsion reduces the flight instability. Moreover, this study develops a precise flexibility model to discuss the effect based on the actual deformation induced by aerodynamic force.

Insular activation during reward anticipation reflects duration of illness in abstinent pathological gamblers

Pathological gambling (PG) is a chronic mental disorder characterized by a difficulty restraining gambling behavior despite negative consequences. Although brain abnormalities in patients with substance use disorders are caused by repetitive drug use and recover partly with drug abstinence, the relationship between brain activity and duration of illness or abstinence of gambling behavior in PG patients remains unclear. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared the brain activity of 23 PG patients recruited from a treatment facility with 27 demographically-matched healthy control subjects during reward anticipation, and examined the correlations between brain activity and duration of illness or abstinence in PG patients. During reward anticipation, PG patients showed decreased activity compared to healthy controls in a broad range of the reward system regions, including the insula cortex. In PG patients, activation in the left insula showed a significant negative correlation with illness duration. Our findings suggest that insular activation during reward anticipation may serve as a marker of progression of pathological gambling.

Modeling and emergence of flapping flight of butterfly based on experimental measurements

The objective of this paper is to clarify the principle of stabilization in flapping-of-wing flight of a butterfly, which is a rhythmic and cyclic motion. For this purpose, a dynamics model of a butterfly is derived by Lagranges method, where the butterfly is considered as a rigid multi-body system. For the aerodynamic forces, a panel method is applied. Validity of the mathematical models is shown by an agreement of the numerical result with the measured data. Then, periodic orbits of flapping-of-wing flights are searched in order to fly the butterfly models. Almost periodic orbits are obtained, but the model in the searched flapping-of-wing flight is unstable. This research, then, studies how the wake-induced flow and the flexibly torsional wings effect on the flight stability. Numerical simulations demonstrate that both the wake-induced flow and the flexible torsion reduces the flight instability. Because the obtained periodic flapping-of-wing flight is unstable, a feedback control system is designed, and a stable flight is realized.

Identification of a separation wave number between weak and strong turbulence spectra for a vibrating plate

A weakly nonlinear spectrum and a strongly nonlinear spectrum coexist in a statistically steady state of elastic wave turbulence. The analytical representation of the nonlinear frequency is obtained by evaluating the extended self-nonlinear interactions. The critical wave numbers at which the nonlinear frequencies are comparable with the linear frequencies agree with the separation wave numbers between the weak and strong turbulence spectra. We also confirm the validity of our analytical representation of the separation wave numbers through comparison with the results of direct numerical simulations by changing the material parameters of a vibrating plate.

Heterogeneity of Loss Aversion in Pathological Gambling.

Pathological gambling (PG) is characterized by continual repeated gambling behavior despite negative consequences. PG is considered to be a disorder of altered decision-making under risk, and behavioral economics tools were utilized by studies on decision-making under risk. At the same time, PG was suggested to be a heterogeneous disorder in terms of personality traits as well as risk attitude. We aimed to examine the heterogeneity of PG in terms of loss aversion, which means that a loss is subjectively felt to be larger than the same amount of gain. Thirty-one male PG subjects and 26 male healthy control (HC) subjects underwent a behavioral economics task for estimation of loss aversion and personality traits assessment. Although loss aversion in PG subjects was not significantly different from that in HC subjects, distributions of loss aversion differed between PG and HC subjects. HC subjects were uniformly classified into three levels (low, middle, high) of loss aversion, whereas PG subjects were mostly classified into the two extremes, and few PG subjects were classified into the middle range. PG subjects with low and high loss aversion showed a significant difference in anxiety, excitement-seeking and craving intensity. Our study suggested that PG was a heterogeneous disorder in terms of loss aversion. This result might be useful for understanding cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms and the establishment of treatment strategies for PG.

Single-wave-number representation of nonlinear energy spectrum in elastic-wave turbulence of the Föppl-von Kármán equation: energy decomposition analysis and energy budget.

A single-wave-number representation of a nonlinear energy spectrum, i.e., a stretching-energy spectrum, is found in elastic-wave turbulence governed by the Föppl-von Kármán (FvK) equation. The representation enables energy decomposition analysis in the wave-number space and analytical expressions of detailed energy budgets in the nonlinear interactions. We numerically solved the FvK equation and observed the following facts. Kinetic energy and bending energy are comparable with each other at large wave numbers as the weak turbulence theory suggests. On the other hand, stretching energy is larger than the bending energy at small wave numbers, i.e., the nonlinearity is relatively strong. The strong correlation between a mode a(k) and its companion mode a(-k) is observed at the small wave numbers. The energy is input into the wave field through stretching-energy transfer at the small wave numbers, and dissipated through the quartic part of kinetic-energy transfer at the large wave numbers. Total-energy flux consistent with energy conservation is calculated directly by using the analytical expression of the total-energy transfer, and the forward energy cascade is observed clearly.